JOHOR BAHRU, 29 May 2020– A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Sofiazianti Salleh, won the first place for Five Minutes Video Challenge competition held in conjunction with the Asia International Multidisciplinary Conference (AIMC) 2020.
On the 8th of May 2020, a video of AIMC 2020 5Slides5Minutes was presented by Sofiazianti which later was uploaded on YouTube platform. In a 5-minute video presented by her, she elaborated about her research on GRIT and student’s achievement in Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in a brief and clear language which makes the video compact and concise for the audience viewing.
According to her, GRIT can be related to passion and perseverance, a belief that failure can be overcome, willingness to conquer challenges instead of avoiding them, and how the government can use it to push school students in mastering STEM.
The mastery of STEM is crucial to build a modern nation and it should be acknowledged that the real factor that drives the nation towards modernization is the trained manpower from the sectors of science and technology.
In her presentation, Sofiazianti stressed the importance of carrying research about the non-cognitive factors such as GRIT and its effects to encourage students in the mastery of STEM. She said that GRIT does help in making students feel less intimidated by STEM-related subjects and eventually achieve academically in STEM.
Aside from the great content and presentation, the video also had an immense number of viewers, likes, and comments which contributed to secure Sofiazianti’s top place in the competition.
By winning the championship, Sofiazianti was given a cash prize of RM 1,000, a gold medal, and an opportunity for the study presented to be published in a Scopus journal.
Participating in the conference is not a new thing for Sofiazianti as she has joined AIMC since 2018 to compete and gain new experience. Her success in AIMC started when she managed to be the 2nd runner-up for AIMC 2019 5Slides5Minutes championship.
The AIMC is an annual conference organised by Connecting Asia, a reputable body known for its effort in fostering knowledge and research-related activities. It was held since 2015 involving more than 15 countries worldwide which was not limited to Europe, Asia, and African countries.
Although many other conferences have been canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, AIMC 2020 still managed to be organised through collaborative efforts made among experts from seven different countries in conducting 100% virtual conference, targeting a wider range of audiences, and 5Slides5Minutes presentations.
